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Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Fresh Sunflower (向日葵) Seeds

The enjoyment of having sunflower seeds with salad is forever etched on my memory as one of the rare times i relish fresh greenies! Like many urbanites, i have no idea how exactly they are processed and what they actually look like in their original forms.

For one, most of us know sunflower seeds come from the cheerful, sunny looking sunflower plant (向日葵). The above sunflower is still a juvenile and is too shy to show its full glory.  

This one had grown up but it's not the ripe time to reap the seeds yet! This vibrant flower was at its peak in life and required the sun for further tanning.

Once the petals start to drop and the leaves start to dry, most people will not give this dying flora a second look. At least i didn't in my visit to the Rose Centre two years back!

However, for my recent visit, the knowledgeable mommy pointed at the almost dead sunflower head, asked me to look closer and let her know what those dried up bumps are!

Truthfully, i had no idea what they were; dead flies or bees? It's only upon touching the bumps and scrapping one out that i realised with shock that they are sunflower seeds!!! Kaoz... 30 years of life and i am still learning new things from my mom!

The plucked seed has no physical difference to the general supermarket sunflower seeds we know. And though i was apprehensive of the insecticide content, i was assured by the worker in Rose Centre that the seeds are safe for human consumption.

I am glad i took the challenge!
The insides were moist and even though it was not as crunchy, the raw juice of the sunflower seed made it very appetising.

If not for mom's objection, i would have happily taken the sunflower head back to the hotel and slowly savour the fresh sunflower seeds with lettuce from the farms in Cameron Highlands.

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